Ever felt like you’re a little low on energy? We’ve all been there. There’s a range of reasons why you may feel a little depleted, and struggle with energy levels. Many people turn to quick-fix solutions, like the third cup of coffee, or a sweet treat to help boost their energy levels. While this may seem appealing in the short term, in the long term they may actually leave you feeling even more depleted of energy. Enter medicinal mushrooms… medicinal mushrooms are legal, non-addictive, naturally occurring mushrooms, which are a hot topic of medical and scientific research for multiple reasons, including research into how effective they can be to boost energy levels and stamina.
Cordyceps mushroom is one of these medicinal mushrooms, loved and trusted for these very reasons. Cordyceps is a long tentacle-like medicinal mushroom, but unlock mushrooms that you cook with, like button mushrooms, or chestnut mushrooms, Cordyceps is more commonly taken as a powder or supplement, and is believed to help enhance a range of wellness-related factors, like energy, stamina, and even your lung capacity. Read on to see how cordyceps mushrooms can help you.
What are Cordyceps Mushrooms?
Cordyceps are medicinal mushrooms loaded with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and powerful biochemical properties. They basically are fungi that live on certain caterpillars found on the mountainous terrains of China. However, this is not the only source of these valuable mushrooms; they can also be synthesized in laboratories, hence keeping their supply coming!
Cordyceps has about 500 species, the majority of which are indigenous to Korea, Bhutan, China, Nepal, Vietnam, and Thailand. Cordyceps Sinensis is the most well-known medicinal species. They are not technically mushrooms, but entomopathogenic fungi, which means they grow as parasites on insects in nature.
The name "cordyceps" comes from Latin and means "club head," which describes their unique shrunken appearance, identical to that of a deep orange caterpillar. The body of the mushroom is lanky and finger-like, usually brown and orange in colour.
Cordyceps have been used for centuries and are highly regarded for promoting well-being and extending one's lifespan. Cordyceps are prominent for their stimulating properties, and their single dose can enhance athletic performance, immunity, and respiration.
These fungi are often employed in the natural magic potions in ancestral Tibetan and Chinese medicine to help fight diseases, boost stamina, and prolong lifespan.
Among the numerous conditions Cordyceps can be used for, the most common ones include cough, bronchitis, anaemia, high cholesterol, arrhythmias, frailty, and other lung and kidney problems.
Do Cordyceps Help with Bronchitis?
Chronic Bronchitis refers to inflammation of your lung's bronchioles. It is often indicated by a drop in expiratory flow of the forced-expiration test and through phlegmy mucus cough that is usually yellow green.
This inflammatory condition occurs due to extensive exposure to harmful irritants, such as those present in cigarette smoke, which can cause damage to the lungs and airway lining.
Symptoms of this chronic illness include shortness of breath, blueing of the skin, and headaches, which occur due to abnormally high concentrations of carbon dioxide in the blood that your lung cannot exhale out.
Cordyceps are known to reduce inflammation, boost immune response, and prevent bronchial cell aging. In a study with asthmatic patients, using Cordyceps as an adjuvant to pharmaceutical treatment resulted in a reduction in the inflammation of the respiratory tract.
There is also evidence that Cordyceps has a beneficial impact on the balance of the immune response via the respiratory epithelium. This explains why they have traditionally been used to treat respiratory illnesses such as asthma and Chronic bronchitis. Additionally, Cordyceps can also slow down the aging of bronchial cells, a process often caused by prolonged cigarette smoke exposure.
Cordyceps for Asthma
Cordyceps can help your body fight inflammation and can be used as an anti-inflammatory drug or supplement. According to multiple types of research, Cordyceps can also reduce inflammation in their airways and is used as a potential antidote for asthma.
Asthma is a chronic upper respiratory tract disease due to airway hyperresponsiveness and bronchial hyperinflammation caused by oxidative stress, which can damage the bronchial lining.
But the good news is that it can be treated. But how? Through Cordyceps! This superfood happens to be an excellent antioxidant, and its extracts can not only reduce the presence of oxidation-causing free radicals, but they may also prevent oxidation of cholesterol, which is the first step towards plaque formation in your blood vessels. In short, Cordyceps' anti-inflammatory nature is the main reason behind its asthma-relieving nature.
This study further shines a light on the use of Cordyceps Sinensis in treating asthma patients. Cordyceps Sinensis can improve a patient's quality of life by lowering asthma-related symptoms and the frequency and severity of asthma onset. Not to mention, it can also significantly reduce asthma-induced inflammation during the 3-month intervention period, which occurs due to decreased expression of inflammatory biomarkers.
These novel findings back up the hypothesis regarding the use of Cordyceps Sinensis in the treatment of asthma. However, further studies on human models are needed to verify this claim.
To summarise, Cordyceps is a safe treatment for asthma patients and can be used to improve their life quality.
Do Cordyceps Increase Oxygen Levels?
Aside from playing a vital role in improving cardiac function and respiratory conditions, Cordyceps can also increase the amount of oxygen in the blood. This increase in oxygen capacity (the amount of oxygen the blood can absorb) can improve muscle function and endurance.
Cordyceps improves oxygen uptake and transportation during high-intensity physical activity. Research shows that in as little as three weeks, cordyceps can enhance respiratory parameters such as maximal oxygen uptake, time to depletion, and ventilatory threshold over placebo.
Other studies also indicated that Cordyceps might increase the levels of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in the body by facilitating its production. ATP is a molecule required for the delivery of energy to your muscles. Increasing ATP can assist your body in optimizing the use of oxygen and hence, increase the oxygen levels.
This study found that taking a mushroom blend at 4 grams per day for three weeks improved VO2 max and increased oxygen levels during strenuous exercise. This resulted in improved performance, lower exhaustion, and delayed fatigue.
Cordyceps for Smokers
Studies show that the benefits of this adaptogenic mushroom are not only limited to the lungs. In fact, cordyceps can also help lower blood triglycerides and cholesterol, prevent platelet aggregation, dilate blood vessels, and ultimately improve your blood flow. All these can further prevent the pathogenesis of diabetes and other coronary heart diseases.
Smoking negatively impacts the nervous system, resulting in problems with life and work. It can cause memory loss and sleeplessness, and do we even have to measure all its detrimental health effects?
What to do, then? One natural way to combat smoking-induced morbidities and boost the body's immunity is to take cordyceps.
Cordyceps can soothe smokers' bodies and minds through its anticonvulsant effect while simultaneously boosting the body's resistance to the harmful substances of the smoke.
The constituents which render Cordyceps its disease-fighting properties are its polysaccharides. These complex carbohydrates are highly beneficial and are used to treat conditions such as kidney failure caused by smoking successfully.
These carbs do this by restoring impaired renal function and encouraging tubular regeneration, which can speed up the recovery of patients suffering from atrophic kidneys.
Cordyceps can also clean and nourish the damaged lungs and boost and speed up lung cell recovery by repairing damaged lung cell tissues and producing new ones, which leads to restoring bronchial tone and lung capacity.
Men in their middle years who smoke excessively need to focus more on their lung health. The cordycepin acid found in Cordyceps can prevent kidney and lung damage, decrease bleeding, lessen phlegm, considerably increase bronchial cilia activity, and control bronchial smooth muscle.
In addition, Mycobacterium TB and other microorganisms that can lead to lung infections are strongly inhibited and killed by this cordycepin. However, all these benefits certainly do not mean you start taking this mushroom without proper guidance. Always consult your healthcare professional before using Cordyceps.
Benefits of Good Respiratory Health
Most people don't give enough attention and care to their lungs. They can therefore suffer from breathlessness and a reduced lung capacity which can be highlighted through exercise, or may increase naturally as we age.
Our lungs put in constant effort for you and assist you in easy breathing, which honestly is a blessing. Not taking proper care of the lungs and respiratory system can lead to multiple severe ailments.
So, what are the benefits of good respiratory health? Here's a list of why our lung health is so fundamental to our general health and wellbeing.
Helps you speak
Lungs are responsible for pushing air into your vocal cords and vibrating it, a step essential for generating sound and talking. Therefore, it won't be wrong to say that your throat, voice box, tongue, and lips work in unison with your lungs to help you talk and "yell at the top of your lungs!"
Hold your breath
You could not hold your breath without your lungs. With your faces submerged, such as in activities like diving and swimming, it would be practically impossible to perform them without your lungs. Your brain, blood arteries, and muscles work together with your lungs to temporarily stop your air intake and go for a few minutes without breathing, which can be beneficial in some scenarios.
Aids in exercise
If you are a die-hard exercise enthusiast, you probably already know the importance of healthy lungs in helping in vigorous exercise and providing those extra breaths needed to finish it. By the term "Vigorous," we mean:
- Activities like hiking
- Sprinting
- Bicycling
- Playing basketball, soccer, tennis, or other sports
Regular exercise can improve the efficiency and strength of your lungs and every muscle in your body and allows you to carry out your physical activities easily, without putting your body through constant tension and strain.
Dosage for Cordyceps:
Because Cordyceps is a natural substance, there are no definitive guidelines for how to take cordyceps or cordyceps supplements. As a general guideline, we recommend checking product labels to see their guidelines.
If you begin to experience any odd symptoms after taking cordyceps, stop taking them immediately and let your doctor know. And don't forget to show your doctor the product packaging.
According to the scientific literature, the recommended dosage for powdered cordyceps extract is 1-3 g/day. However, this strongly depends on the cordyceps' strength and morphology.
Larger doses have often been found to be more effective. One human clinical study used 4g/day to enhance exercise performance. You may consider even higher doses with a doctor's recommendation for specific immune support.
MIND & BODY MUSHROOM BLEND NOOTROPIC CAPSULES
Are you looking for a Cordyceps-containing product to improve your respiratory system? If so, give our Mind & Body Mushroom Blend a try!
They are one of our most loved products, which provides a little bit of everything. From controlling stress hormones to optimizing your focus and reducing brain fog, these capsules are indeed the way to go.
Made from all-natural ingredients, this supplement includes a powerful blend of mushrooms: Cordyceps, Lions Mane, Reishi, Shiitake, Maitake, and Chaga, which can improve your lungs and respiratory health in just a few days!
High Strength Cordyceps Capsules
We believe in the power of cordyceps so much that we have formulated high-strength, single-ingredient Cordyceps capsules, designed to help support your heart and lungs for a healthy respiratory system.
These capsules can be taken in combination with Puresport’s Mind and Body Mushroom supplement, as well as with our other nootropic or CBD products. Take 1-2 capsules daily with water over a prolonged period of time to feel the best benefits.
Ending Note:
Now that you are aware of the astronomical number of uses and advantages of cordyceps mushrooms for lung ailments and are looking for some respiration-promoting supplements, we are confident that you will find them in no time, thanks to the extensive collection at Puresport. Whether you suffer from anaemia, excessive cholesterol, liver issues, or simply poor respiratory health, we certainly have you covered!